Rating: 
Summary: Engrossing tale of desperation and death
Review: I've recently embarked on a historical novel kick -- a satisfying read with the added bonus of learning a little chunk of history, what could be better? I came across Sheri Holman's novel on the "paperback favorites" table when I was browsing in a local bookstore. It looked intriguing, so I thought that I'd give it a try. The book is about a 19th century cholera epidemic in an English town, and features Gustine, a poor girl with a very ill child who works as a potter's assistant by day and a prostitute by night -- she is provided with a fancy blue dress to attract higher-end clientele (hence the title). Also featured is Henry Chivers, a young doctor who is trying to escape a grisly past. It's really the secondary characters that make the book though -- Eye, the old woman who follows Gustine around to make sure she doesn't abscond with the dress; Pink, the daughter of Gustine's conspiracy-theory crazed landlord who is desperate for a little love; and Mike, the landlord's prize ferret, treasured above all, and much above Pink. The novel is not a cheery one; death lurks around every corner and loathesome characters abound. Even each of the main characters is deeply flawed in some way, and the reader is left without anyone to truly cheer for. Dr. Chivers, especially, is hardly the hero the reader might have initially expected him to be. Holman employs an interesting technique to tidly wrap up the plot, leaving open the possiblity that it _doesn't_ get tidly wrapped up. She is a gifted writer; the novel is darkly humorous at times, and very well researched. Also recommended is The Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss, which I've also read and reviewed on amazon.
Rating:
Summary: took a little while...
Review: This book does take time to get into. For me to consider a book good, i have to care about the character and wonder what is going to happen next. In this novel, it took until I was half way finished before i really was intersted in the lives of the characters. Interesting story. I did truly enjoy the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing without labour
Review: This fascinating book is a portal back in time. There is not one detail the author leaves out of any scene, and some may be astounded and overwrought at just how vivid it is. The book reaches back into the past and teaches you history as you probably have never been taught it before. The characters are alive and engaging and you have to wait your turn to get to know them because that is just how the story works and it can work no other way. Had they been explained in the very beginning it would have made for a monotonous mainstream dishwater dud of a book. The ending, in my mind, was completely different from what I expected at the outset. In fact, this is one of the best books I have read in ages. To be entertained and educated, scared and exhilerated, all at the same time!
Rating: 
Summary: extravagant, overwrought, sensationalism
Review: Very readable, which is my main criterium for a book. The prose is lush, extravagant, sensational. The overall impression of the book is of crowded, smelly, disgusting streets filled with extremely poor, diseased, distressed people, lots of noise and movement. The author seems to have done a lot of research and is really a better writer than many, but still the book is overwhelming and repetitive (just in case you don't get the point the author is making), and the outcome obvious, and after a while I resorted to dipping into different chapters to follow the plot, but not reading every word.
Rating: 
Summary: Did Not Enjoy Reading
Review: I did not really enjoy this book from the character stand point. The majority of the characters were wrapped up in themselves and I was not able to really visualize them. Gustine's evening occupation was not at all glamorus. There were also many examples of "racism" with characters from the upper class towards the lower class. I do realize that this was a factor in the 1800's but I did not like reading about it. The writing style, such as "dear reader", was very confusing. I did think the historical points in the book were some what interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre, at best.
Review: Gustine is a 15 year old prostitute by night, pottery factory employee by day. She toils in relative obscurity, submitting to her landlord who employs her as a dress lodger, all for the benefit of her handicapped son who was born with an unusual defect. One night she meets Henry, a young doctor with a haunting past, who is desperate for a corpse to supply his students for medical study.
The story is set in a time when the medical community had to balance the ethics of bodily dissection with the superstitious nature of the majority of the population. As a result of the affection many showed their loved ones most doctors were unable to acquire human corpses to further the field of anatomical knowledge, and many had to resort to grave robbing in order to be able to understand the physiology of the body. This is a major plot element, and the reason Gustine and Henry form an alliance of sorts early on in the story. The writing is chilling at times. The descriptions of the diseases are very vivid and grotesque, not for the faint of heart. The subtle ways in which the author mentions the gore and internal workings of the human body were interesting.
This is one of those books most will either love or hate. I'm somewhere in the middle myself. I thought I would like this book, by every indication I should of; this kind of story is usually right up my alley. But this time the book just didn't do it for me. The characters never seemed to become real or engaging. They congealed together in an unusual way, but never seemed to leap from the page as they should of in order to carry a plot of this magnitude. I found myself finishing it just to see where the story went, not because I cared about what happened to the characters. This may work for some readers, but it was mediocre for my tastes.
Rating: 
Summary: I tried, but could not get into this book
Review: I tried, despite my feelings from the beginning that I would not like this book, to give it a chance. From the first page, I had a hard time getting used to the writing style...I could not like any of the characters, even though I tried to keep an open mind. I finally put the book down and am trying to think of someone I know who might enjoy it and I can't come up with one.
Rating:
Summary: Not One Word Wasted
Review: I would never have read this book, had I not discovered it on a featured table of paperbacks at the bookstore. Sheri Holman's dedication to research and historic accuracy are matched only by her rich literary style. Rarely does a modern day author so vividly capture the feel of a long-gone historic period while weaving such an intricate tale. These are dark times, which dictate and force the protagonists into deeds and lifestyles of their own choosing: young Gustine to a life with little hope save for her baby, and Dr. Chiver into an obsession with wrongdoing he believes is for the common good. This is not a cheerful tale- yet one worthy of study in high school and collegiate classes of literature. Stumbling across books of this quality is enough to make one search more diligently for other hidden bookstore gems, as well as to seek other writings by Sheri Holman.
Rating:
Summary: Haven't read anything else by this author
Review: but I thought this book was alright as far as I am assuming happened back then. It was a dark and sinister book, but after reading the flap you should know what kind of book it is going to be. I thought the characters were believable and real. I loved Pink the best. I am not really happy with the ending either. Hoping some of Ms. Holman's books will be a bit better.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENTLY MACABRE!
Review: This is a fantstic book. I would especially recommend it to anyone interested in Britain's "bloody" history. (i.e. if you are into the Plague, Bodysnatching, etc... read this story!)
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